Vijay Singh has made 648 career starts on the PGA Tour. That doesn’t take away from the achievements of Mark Brooks, who made a record 803 Tour appearances, but it’s still a lot of golf.
Singh’s first Tour start came while Bush 41 was still in office, at the 1992 Memorial, where the then relatively unknown 29-year-old Fijian played on a sponsor exemption and tied for 7th. Over the next thirty-plus years, Singh put together a resume that elevated him to a place among the all-time greats: 34 wins, 28 runners-up, a staggering percentage of almost 80% and – generational alert! – more than $71 million in earnings on the track, which ranks sixth on the career earnings list, behind only Tiger, Rory, Scottie and two gold-plated Js (Justin Rose and Jim Furyk).
The latter award comes with a nice and little-discussed extra until this week: a golden ticket back to the Tour. As per the Tour eligibility rules, players who have lost Tour status but are among the top 50 earners of all time can regain full membership for a season of their choice. The ultimate escape card without jail time.
This year, Singh, who turns 63 next month, is cashing in on the winnings.
A soon-to-be 63-year-old golfer rejoining the most competitive tour in the world isn’t as wild as, say, the hypothesis of Michael Jordan (who’s 62) resigning from the Bulls or Roger Clemens (who’s 63) returning to an MLB mound, but it’s still a comeback to marvel at, especially in an era when the Tour has become leaner and playing opportunities are scarcer.
But the rules are the rules and starting with the Sony Open in Honolulu next week, Singh will be back on the Tour’s Fairways (non-Masters division) for the first time since the 2021 Honda Classic, where he shot 74-73 and missed the cut. Singh’s last goal on Tour came at the 2020 Memorial, where he finished tied for 62nd. The last time he played ten or more events in a season was 2017-2018.
Singh won’t have that carte blanche playing rights; the designated events are of course off-limits. But a Tour spokesperson said Singh “will likely be eligible for the vast majority of full-court events” in 2026. The spokesperson did not know how many of those tournaments Singh plans to participate in.
Singh has suffered from injuries in recent years, particularly a bad back. In April, he withdrew from the Masters, citing an undisclosed injury, snapping his run of 31 consecutive Masters starts. In 20 appearances on the PGA Tour Champions last year, he had 6 top 10s and finished 23rd on the money list.
Singh is known for his tireless work ethic and marathon sessions, and he still has pop; his average driving distance of 292.4 meters in 2025 ranked 16th on the Champions circuit. But there’s long and then there’s PGA Tour long. That driving average would have ranked 164th on the PGA Tour in 2025, a few ticks above Lucas Glover and Russell Henley.
Singh knows what he is dealing with. He also said the same when he played in the 2019 Players Championship as a 57-year-old. “Playing the regular Tour, I think, brings a lot more pressure to play well,” he said. “It takes a lot more work to go out there and be ready to play. I practice more when I play the regular Tour. The preparation is a little different.”
“Playing the Champions Tour is a lot more relaxing for me. Once I started playing there, I don’t want to come back here. It’s so easy to play there, you get practice rounds in the cart and pro-am in the cart. Here it’s four full days, plus two extra days of playing and walking.”
The start of next year’s PGA Tour season is one big mystery. This is why
By means of:
Dylan Dethier
News of Singh’s return to the youth tour, where he will play against opponents 40 years his junior, has drawn the ire of at least some members of golf’s Twitter peanut gallery, who argue that Singh will, essentially on a lark, take precious playing spots away from more deserving or needy players. Singh faced similar criticism when competing in a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2020; the recoil was so intense that he retreated.
Commenting on Singh’s return in 2026, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said his problem is less with Singh than with the waiver itself. “This is what happens when you give players too much power or too much power,” Chamblee wrote about X. “If the PGA Tour is going to claim to be a sport based on meritocracy, you can’t allow players to make money off their performances from ten or decades ago, through the current exemptions. Sports must always answer the question: Why are you here and not someone else? And the answer can never be because I was great ten or twenty years ago.”
Could Singh still be great? Very unlikely. Could he still make cuts? Certainly. He did this at the 2024 Masters, where he opened 75-73 before a third round of 82 derailed him. The oldest player to make a PGA Tour cut in an individual stroke play event is Sam Snead, who played the weekend at the 1979 Westchester Classic at age 67. Jack Nicklaus and Fred Funk both made a PGA Tour cut at age 64, and Tom Watson did so at age 65. On the right course, in the right week, it is not inconceivable that Singh could find himself within shouting distance of the lead.
If not, you’ll probably encounter him on the property.
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